


ang ating dagat, humihitik sa bulaklak (our flower laden seas)

by sisinala



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, HEA because we deserve it, Other, fix it but in another universe, lets go aswang hunting babey, ph myth reylo au, the force wants reylo, world between worlds nonsense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:27:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22147900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisinala/pseuds/sisinala
Summary: “Love like this is so rare with the fleeting. And when have we ever strayed from things just because they hurt?”
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 13
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue - a riddle old as time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So yeah, yeah another wip sorry 😅.
> 
> This one will mesh SW canon + Legends with Philippine mythology. I'll try to add the references at the end of every fic if you need more context :) Hopefully the stories mesh well! Thank you!
> 
> TROS spoilers!!!

_Ako’y nagtanim ng dayap,_

_Sa gitna ng ating dagat_

_Walang puno’t walang ugat,_

_Humihitik sa bulaklak_

_(Bituin)_

I planted limes, 

In the middle of our sea

There was no tree, nor roots,

But it was laden with flowers

(Stars)

  
  


They meet, as always, ever since they woke as time and space and everything that _is_ \--husband and wife, for love was the first thing that awoke--in the sea between seas. The waves of all the oceans encircle them, forming the gyre where they built their meeting place. The humble floating hut, the only place they could meet. There were stars in the sky and stars in the water, humming the cosmic songs about those that passed and those that are to be. But not those that are being told, since the living present is as restless as the goddess who presides over it. 

Her husband, the god of the past and futures, the watcher suns and the heralding skies, waits as she rows her boat closer, smiling in the way that told of the ache of eternity of always being too close but never enough. 

Because for everything to exist, Tungkung Langit and his wife Alunsina can never touch. 

Her boat, a _molave_ tree shaped to sail the eternal waters-- _alive_ , its lush, green leaves shaking as he sent a gust of solar winds to caress her face--bumps on the raft, the bamboo creaking and dipping slightly on the water as she unboards. She looks up at him with her eyes the color of fertile soil, flashing like the scales of the milkfish when caught by the light, smiling in return. He waits on the opposite side of the table, wishing as he always does that they were not separated by the fabric of reality--the child they’ve woven together. 

As she approaches, the gentle rains begin in all the worlds. A _wedding_ , the humans would say, and most of them would scurry under the leaves of the trees and the eaves of their huts, and only the small children who relish in the rainfall will celebrate with them. For children know the purest love. And then they forget.

“ _Giliw_ , it’s been too long,” she says as she sits, gathering her unbound hair on her shoulder. There was a time when the moon was her comb and the sun her crown, and all the stars in the sky hung from the necklace on her neck. But now her head was bare and all he is left with is the cold cosmos. 

He laughs, for time does not matter to them and it could have been centuries or seconds since their last meeting, but it aches just the same. She presses her fingers to her lips, then on the veil between them. And he does the same and meets her halfway. For a while he could pretend that he could feel her heat. They lower their hands at the same time. 

“It has, _mahal_.” They sigh. Tungkung Langit suddenly feels as old as he was.

“What happened? Have they kissed yet?” She raised her eyebrows and cast her eyes on the reflections in the water, where she watched the past few hours of her realm in a blink of an eye. When she walks among her chosen mortals, Alunsina has to leave their looking glass sea. He didn’t mind keeping watch though, and when she returns and he recounts everything for her. He didn’t need to since the waters were clear and remember all, but she said that she loved listening to his voice. 

“They have. But you would not like what has happened. There is too much pain, dearest. Let’s stop watching.” _We have been betrayed by fate. Again._

In the water the lovers were smiling, having cheated death twice--once for each of them. Their first kiss at the end of everything. The woman cradles her lover, tears streaming down her face. Their joy was so palpable, so solid, that the gods could feel it from where they were. 

His hand ached to hold hers. She settled her hand just in front of his so that they could pretend that he could. He ran his fingers playfully over hers. 

Alunsina waved her other hand playfully, blushing. 

“Love like this is so rare with the fleeting. And when have we ever strayed from things just because they hurt?” There was a playful smirk on her lips, but underneath it all the light of his life is grieving. For them, for the lovers in the water, for love written in the stars, not to be but should be. 

But the Force is just _is._ And sometimes what is, is _cruel._

The man falls, and the woman chases him down, but his life is hers now. His body is but a fading husk. The goddess of the living feels him leave her domain. 

“He loves her.” He runs his fingers over the table, tracing her vows, etched on the wood. 

“And she him.” 

“Such a waste.” 

Alunsina looks pensive and she tears her gaze from the following scenes and looks at him, drumming her fingers on the table, running her fingers over his half of the vows. 

“What are you thinking?”

“Everything and nothing.”

“We cannot intervene.” 

She raised an eyebrow, “We are the _Force_ , my love. Two halves of one. The worlds are shifting and it has tipped the balance dangerously so.” She sighed deeply, but her eyes were determined. As fiery as the time she asked him to be her husband. “They were supposed to bring balance as we did long ago. We’ve waited millennia for love like this.” 

“Their fates are written.”

“You and your certainties. We _both_ preside about what is to come, even though I cannot see as well as you. And how many times have I proved you wrong, husband?” 

He laughs, because she was restless once more, her knee bouncing under the table and burning with her passion that has never faded. But he wants to be careful, since this was not the first time that hope had been the wrong choice. 

“What do we do, then? The most important story has been told. No matter our hopes, this is how it truly ends.” 

Mischief twinkles in her eyes. 

_“Is it?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Giliw ](https://www.tagalog-dictionary.com/search?word=giliw) (n.) - beloved, also can mean 'my hapiness'
> 
> [ Mahal ](https://www.tagalog-dictionary.com/search?word=mahal) (n.) - beloved, 'my love'
> 
> [ Alunsina and Tungkung Langit ](https://www.aswangproject.com/tungkung-langit-alunsina/) are creation gods from the Philippines, specifically Visayan (a major island group, of which the Ph has three) beliefs, and it was said that TL created everything and Alunsina waited at home for him. Then, Alunsina became jealous of the time her husband gave everything else that she confronted him, TL got mad and she ran away, never to return. To convince her to come home, Tungkung Langit hung her comb as the moon, her crown as the sun and her pearl necklace as the stars.
> 
> I wanted to give them a bit more spin and merged them with the idea of being equal halves of the Force: the [ Cosmic Force ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cosmic_Force) and the [ Living Force ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Living_Force) . Also I just wanted them to speak about endings not being endings ;)
> 
> [ Big trees ](https://www.aswangproject.com/mystical-sacred-trees-in-philippine-lore/) were considered gateways to other worlds, with the most famous one being the Balete tree. But I have a particular fondness for the Molave since it was featured heavily in Mulawin, a show that I treasure (a philippine fantaserye about avian humans).
> 
> The place where the lover gods meet is this fic's take of the [ World between Worlds ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/World_between_worlds)
> 
> In the Philippines, when it drizzles while the sun is out, it's said that there is a wedding of enchanted creatures. I don't think the gods will feature heavily in the fic, but I just wanted the Force being sad about what happens and willing reylo back into being 😅


	2. Chapter 2

An excerpt from the _'Alamat ng Buko'_ (The Legend of the Coconut)

_Si Ulilang kaluluwa, naiwan sa ilalim ng bangin_

_Ang ahas at ang nawawalang hangin,_

_Si Galang kaluluwa, walang pupuntahan_

_Ang ibon na nawalan ng tahanan_

_Ang kanyang pakpak ay naging dahon, ang kanyang katawan ay naging punong kahoy_

_Naglaho ang tadhana at sila'y inilibing ng oras_

The Orphaned Soul, left behind at the bottom of the cliff

The snake and the lost winds,

The Wandering Soul, nowhere to go

The bird without a home

Her wings became the leaves, his body became the trunk

Destiny faded and time buried them

“I know you can see me, _anak_.” 

Rey kept her eyes on the road, rocked her head to music that was playing too quietly for her to thoroughly ignore the noise of the streets around her. The wind was stale and heavy, and it always smelled like smog at these hours. She leaned her cheek on her wrist, elbow on the open window of the bus, letting herself be distracted by the bustle of the sidewalks. The vendors were _mostly_ human, but she spotted an engkantada holding out a shimmering length of cloth to an unsuspecting woman and her daughter, on another stall a bored duende fanned himself as he leaned over glass cases of shiny baubles. A lady who stood in front of a fruit cart turning over oranges to check for ripeness and smelling them was too tall, a hint of a horsetail under her skirt. Spirits of all kinds floated lazily. It was too hot. None of the swanky airconditioned trains go remotely near their town, and she had to make do with this rusty hunk of metal. At least it wasn’t overcrowded as it usually was. And she had a window seat. 

Rey wanted to close her eyes and sleep the rest of the hours of her commute away. There was nothing to see, she’d taken this road way too often that every building she passed by was familiar. She could have easily woken up at her stop automatically, her body used to the journey, but the ghost sitting in front of her stared at her intently. She’d tried to catch Rey’s attention for the past hour, introducing herself as _Liliana_ , and immediately asking where she was going, and if she noticed that there were so many convenience stores nowadays? The woman was wearing clothes far too dated--an airy, translucent blouse with bell-shaped sleeves, a pañuelo embroidered with sampaguita flowers and fluttering butterflies, and a long skirt all in the same creamy white--for her to have been recently deceased, and older ghosts are usually more unstable than her usual fare so Rey had tried her best to ignore her. She’d made the mistake to look Liliana in the eyes as she boarded, and she only hoped that the ghost wouldn’t throw a fit. It was always a hassle to slip away from an angry ghost. 

“I know that you probably get bothered by us a lot. And it must get boring listening to sad stories, and city ghosts are always so irritated _all the time._ I wish I died somewhere else too, but the city had been... different, back then. Well, not really. So much can change and still stay the same.” Liliana looked away, and the city lights were fading, giving way to the sparse intervals of dull streetlights that lined the poorly cemented roads that cut through farmlands when she spoke again. “I’m sorry for bothering you. But you look just like someone I knew.” 

The bus had been mostly empty save for her and a few dozing passengers sitting too far away, leaning on their bags instead of the metal backseats since they were too low to comfortably lean back against. Which also gave Liliana a clear view of her every move. Rey closed her eyes. 

It was quiet for a long time. 

“Oh. They cut the mango trees.” Her voice had been so sad that Rey opened her eyes to look out the window once more, and yes the trees were gone. They’ve been cut when she was young and she remembered them being large and imposing, casting shadows on the road that made it look like it was sunset at noon. Liliana stared wistfully at the places where they once stood.

She was almost at her stop anyway, so Rey replied, “Yes, some years ago. For road widening. They haven’t gotten around to doing any of it though.” 

“I planted seven of them with my husband. My brother came back to carve his name on one when it grew wide enough. There were so many fiestas after the war but that was the one I remembered the most. The whole barrio threw a feast in the plaza and we planted trees after. So many houses lost, so many fields razed. But at that moment I felt most hopeful. I believe my son was conceived that night, too.” Liliana threw her a playful look as she laughed. “I almost married my husband over there, in the middle of those big rocks. By that time I was getting tired of the big parties. Thankfully my horse escaped and ran through the guests and we had time to elope.” 

The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the faintest morning light was creeping up the sky and she could see the vague outline of the rock formation that Liliana had pointed at. Rey was familiar with that story. 

“You’re Liliana Organa,” she whispered breathlessly. 

Hero of the Rebellion. Senator extraordinaire. The general who won them their freedom. 

“ _Leia_ , please.” She wrinkled her nose and, “Only my husband calls me Liliana. And only when he’s really irritated with me.” Rey laughed, and the man directly across her stirred in his sleep so she stopped immediately, smiling at Leia. 

She looked well. For a ghost, anyway. Her pristine clothing didn’t suggest a violent death and her face was free of the mask that usually covers the face of ghosts who’ve lost their way. Those that have stayed this long usually were just a shy away from being malevolent, but Leia, aside from the clothes she wore, looked like she just passed recently. 

From what she remembered of her history classes Leia had outlived all her family, fading into obscurity after the last of her family’s tragedies. 

“What’s the plant for?” Leia motioned to the anthurium on her lap. Its leaves were slightly squashed by her commute but the white spathe remained pristine. The blue spadix popped beautifully because of the white background of the spathe, and Rey smiled sadly. 

“My uncle is sick and I wanted to cheer him up. I haven’t come back for a long time.” Rey thumbed one stalk, suddenly hit by the fear that Chewie could've been hurt worse. She should have been there. 

“Good. That’s good. You should always make time for your family.”

"I wish I could stay there all the time, but I study in the city."

"He wouldn't fault you for that, anak. I think he may understand more than you think."

"You sound so sure, but I think he still feels bad about me leaving."

"Children leave. They are not for parents to keep. We just love them and hope that we prepare them enough to follow their own path." Rey looked down and fidgeted with the straps of the bag that held the plant. 

"You still feel sad."

"It's just… I don’t know.”

“Are you confused because coming home makes you lonely?” Rey looks up guiltily. 

“...yes. I’m not sure why, but every time I come back I feel like I’m intruding. Like I’m stepping into some sacred place that I’m not allowed in. The house _is_ very old. I think it doesn’t like me." Her voice had dropped into a whisper, like the words she was saying were forbidden. 

“You feel out of place?”

“Yes.” 

"Well, maybe you haven't found where you’re supposed to be yet. Don't worry, that will come in time. Just don't take too long like I did." The first light of morning touched the horizon but the sky was full of heavy rain clouds. Rey retrieved her umbrella from one of her bags. She had to dig it out a bit because it was buried under her clothes. It was time for a change in subject.

"You said you died in the city." 

"Yes. 

"Why are you here then?"

"I was going somewhere."

"Can't you just… You know, appear there? You can do that, right?" Rey knew from experience that some ghosts liked to pop out in front of humans they suspect could see them, and by now she was numb to any sudden scare. 

"Yes. But I saw _you_."

"Me?"

"I haven't truly met her, but you remind me so much of my mother.” Leia looks at her curiously, tilting her head. Her eyes shone with memories. “Someone once told me that if you're here long enough, you'd see the same eyes in different people."

"My aunt used to say that all the time."

"Your aunt is wise."

"So I remind you of her. Is that why you wanted to talk to me?" 

"Not entirely. I was just really curious about the flowers. Anthurium, right? They don't grow in that color naturally." Rey nodded.

"It was a gift from a friend. She likes growing different stuff."

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you. I hope my Uncle likes it. My aunt used to have a garden, but she... passed away and I'm rarely home to take care of it." 

"I'm sure he'll like it."

The bus turned and her stop was just ahead. 

"I'm getting off at the next stop. I wish we could've talked more, sorry I ignored you." It's not every day she gets to talk to a national hero, but Leia feels like a different person than the one she read about in history books. Like she was more than static words and the monuments in her honor. More human. Regretful. Flawed. 

"It's alright. I'm nearly where I'm supposed to be, too."

"Where are you going?"

“I need to be there for him.”

Leia leaned in and smiled at her like she was sharing a secret with Rey that she had to keep close to her chest. 

“My son is coming home.”

...

After Rey gathered her things she stood and turned to Leia to say goodbye, but she was already gone. 

Sighing, she got off the bus and looked up as the first droplets of rain fell over her. She shook her umbrella. A thin little thing that looked like the slightest gust of wind could flip it over and it was nothing against the harsh rays of the sun. She got it for free at a fast food joint at the mall and the logo had long since faded away, but it was still the bright red color of the establishment. She ducked under it while she flipped her bags around to better carry them. 

A figure was sitting in the corner of the street, looking up at the clouds. It was the height of summer, but the creature cast such a shadow that loomed over the sidewalk and out into the road. It waited, slumped over but with its face up against the gentle rain. It looked like a curled up snake with scales like feathers of a crow, its form rising and falling like it was black sand that gained sentience. It was quiet, its presence oddly comforting. 

Rey approached it warily. She raised her umbrella over it, but it was so tall that she couldn't do it comfortably to shield it from the rain. Dark spirits were hurt by the rain since it was as pure as water could be. The places where the raindrops hit it sizzled and steamed but the creature didn’t even flinch. Its face was half-concealed by a golden death mask, halfway into being a demon.

"Hey, are you lost?" The figure turned to her slowly, blinking with the single glowing eye that was not concealed by its mask.

"No." It was staring at her strangely. Tilting its head then looking away, it let out a great sigh that stirred the raindrops. "I was avoiding someone" 

Strange. 

“Then why are you sitting where everyone can see you?“

“I already saw her.” It continued to look at the road, uninterested in Rey. Curious, she continued to ask her questions. 

“Why are you in the rain? Rain hurts you." 

"Yes. But it’s falling on me now. It’s been… so long." It looked up and stared at her umbrella. 

“I haven’t seen anyone like you before. What kind of spirit are you?”

“I don’t know.” 

“Were you a diwata?” It didn’t look like it had ever been human. It radiated power, but standing next to it didn’t make her uneasy. More like watching heavy clouds roll into view, or hearing the roar of the ocean during a storm. 

“I don’t know.”

“You look like you could be one. What are you doing here?” 

“I don’t know.” Rey sighed, then hiked up her bags higher on her shoulders. “But the rain…” It moved, raising its face higher, closing its single eye, almost smiling. 

“Do you like the rain?” It wasn’t looking at her and the question was spoken too softly that came out as a deep rumble in the creature’s mouth like it didn’t intend for her to hear. A musing. Something rhetorical. 

“Yes. But I’m carrying my things and they can’t get wet.” It turned to her, its eye lazily jumping over the bags slung over her shoulder, the umbrella in her hand, her face, then the plant in her hand. 

“Oh.” It blinked, “I know that flower.”

“It’s an anthurium, but the colors are--” 

“I should leave.” But it did not move. 

Like it was asking her permission. 

“Where are you going?” 

It turned away, closed its eyes, and stopped moving. It breathed heavily. Pained. 

Rey stood next to it awkwardly for a long time, waiting for it to respond to the questions she tried to ask it. Sadly, when it would reply no longer she decided to head home. She said goodbye and it rumbled something she couldn’t understand. 

Before she turned away she noticed something stuck to the creature’s side. 

It looked like a rusty pipe that was jammed into its coiled body and Rey stepped closer next to it to see it better. Up close she could see that it was a handle, something that was adorned with the dirt-crusted head of a dragon with hazy red ruby eyes on its end. She lifted her hand to it and with the barest touch of her fingers the handle moved. 

The creature spasmed and black sand fell off of it in great chunks. It groaned and grumbled and Rey stepped back from the mess it made on the ground. Unknowingly, she had grabbed the handle and was now holding the heavy object that had been lodged into the creature. It was an old kampilan, its hilt an aged dark wood. Its blade was dull and chipped. When the sand stopped shifting, Rey looked away from the sword, confused. 

In place of the creature was a man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry this took long I really write this slow sorry
> 
> anak - 'child' in Tagalog
> 
> engkantada - similar to fairies, when something strange happens to a person who visits wooded areas, like an unknown rash, people usually say that they are 'na-engkanto' (hexed). They're not usually malevolent but they can be, especially when people harm their dwellings
> 
> duende - similar to dwarves
> 
> Here is something similar to Leia's dress:  
> 
> 
> Rey's flowers are based on those she rescued in Star Wars Rollout (yes i know its a kid show but I love it)
> 
> The Kampilan [ Kampilan ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampilan)
> 
> im on twitter [ @sinaingsinala](https://twitter.com/sinaingsinala/) !


	3. Chapter 3

At first, she considered just leaving them. Rey had lived her life carefully skirting around the dealings of the supernatural. She'd gotten so good at it that most of the time, even the nosiest spirits don't notice. There was no easy way to close your eyes once they had _seen,_ but she'd learned all the lessons the hard way. Now she was on the verge of meddling in businesses that were probably more high-risk than having a conversation with the ghost of a long-dead hero. 

When the creature had been awake all the spirits kept their distance, flitting about the corners and whispering among themselves. Now they were stepping closer, and some of the braver ones floated near. Lambana, which mostly resemble dragonflies but with bodies and wings that twinkled like Christmas lights as the sun hit them, hovered around them. They spoke in high, buzzing voices, talking over each other. 

_An ancient one! An ancient one!_

_A broken god. He stinks of blood._

_Cursed!_

_Blessed!_

_Moon thief!_

_The wandering one_

When they saw the lambana unharmed, other spirits inched forward. A nuno—stroking his beard while not truly leaving his mound-home, some cats and crows whose red eyes told her that they were surely mangkukulam familiars, and a kapre who was lounging on the heavy branches of the balete tree just above them, blowing smoke from his cigarette. They huddled around, peering at them from a distance. The kapre was large and hairy all over but somehow he still blended in with the branches. If one would look at the tree where he sat, they’d only see the wisps of smoke from his cigar. 

"Haven't seen this one here before. I was wondering when he's going to show up."

"You know him, Kuya Sagwa?" Spirits were not easy to talk to and you never know if they're ever going to answer or if they're even going to acknowledge you, but most appreciate politeness. Thankfully, Sagwa was a friend of her uncle. And he'd even allowed her to call him 'brother' _._

"From yesterday. From tomorrow. Everyone knows the _Bakunawa_. He's everywhere and nowhere. Better stand back, he's cursed." The giant pauses to take a hit from his cigar, blowing it out in a long breath. It smelled like tobacco and the soil after rain. "Then again he's _yours_. Take him away. He's poisoning my tree."

"Mine?"

The kapre looks pointedly at the sword in her hands. "Yours. You're bound. Yesterday and tomorrow." The kapre leaned back and the tree groaned at his weight. He rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes. "Did you just get back? I wasn't looking." He wrinkled his nose in disgust, waving his hand in front of his nose before flicking the ashes off the end of his cigar. "You stink of the city. Go now and tell Chewie I say hi. You're attracting too many eyes. I haven't gotten enough sleep yet and the little ones are getting noisier. _Go_."

"I can't carry him alone. Can you—"

"I'm not touching him, dear girl." Rey huffed and bit her lip. This man needed help, and fast. She should make some kind of offering. Something interesting in exchange. She looked at the lambana that were now gathering over the man's head, trying to get a glimpse of his face. Rey perked up with an idea and then,

"Not even for jasmine flavored cigars?" The kapre raised an eyebrow and turned his head towards her. His eyes gleamed in interest. He chuckled and the leaves around him shook. The spirits around them looked cautiously up at him. 

"You know me too well. Make it a whole box and we have a deal." 

It would take a whole lot of convincing Chewie to part with a single stick but she couldn't leave this man behind. She glanced at the man lying face down on the ground, sighing. Something inside her just refused to do so.

"Deal."

The kapre climbed down from his perch, his huge feet scattering the cats and he waved the lambana away with his hand. 

"Do you have a sheet?" She did. One with a floral print that probably shouldn't be exposed to sunlight—it was so old and threadbare that the slightest hint of wind could probably rip it apart. It was Rey's favorite.

"For what?" 

"I'm not touching him."

Rey nodded and complied. This was no time to barter with the kapre. She could already see him start to second-guess himself. Sagwa wrapped the man quickly and carefully, covering his whole body that Rey only glimpsed a bit of his face. His hair was dark and long, longer than hers and unkempt. The skin of his face was pale and his forehead was splotched with sweat. His lashes were black half-moons on his cheeks. He looked feverish. 

“He’s a bakunawa?”

“He’s _the_ bakunawa. Goodness, Chewie never tells you _anything_. There’s only him, dear girl. Him and his hunger. But his story is muddled. All of him is, if you remember how he looked like earlier. He was fading.”

_Fading_. Just like Chewie. Rey swallowed and tried to keep the dread from showing on her face and tried to balance all her things and the sword that was getting heavier as they walked.

“Give me that umbrella, you look like you’ll topple onto the sidewalk. You’re carrying so much, Rey.”

...

They make it back to the house in record time. They stopped just a few steps from the bougainvillea bushes that bordered the garden. Sagwa noticed the strings of bloomed orchids strung from tree to tree like banderitas, lambana and fireflies gathering by the hundreds and twinkling alike, and their garden plants heavily laden with almost ripe fruits. The nearby river bubbled louder because of the rain. 

"Chewie's leaving?

"He's… thinking about it." 

Sagwa gazed at their backyard longingly, sighing, before he said: "Bit too early to decorate, then. Tell the engkantadas before they write their songs. They get really annoyed at cancelled parties."

“Oh, we _tried_.”

Chewie tapped her shoulder, gesturing to her bags. She didn't even hear him coming near. 

Her uncle, though a younger kapre than Sagwa, stood a bit taller than him. He dressed in human clothes whenever he had visitors even though he already had long, thick fur that covered his entire body. But he especially liked wearing them when Sagwa came along because the older one liked to taunt him about his preference for floral shirts. Rey gifts him with ones in brighter colors just to make Sagwa wince. 

_"Gandang umaga, bunso."_

_"Magandang umaga rin, Kuya._ What's that you're holding?"

"Oh, I think you and Rey need to talk." Sagwa handed the bundled man over to Chewie then sighed a long sigh. "You're going soon?"

"I don't know yet. I told Maz I'd like to but I’ve been thinking about it and I'm not really sure. But I'm _tired_ , Kuya."

"I can't believe you want to leave before me. But I'm not here to meddle. Though, I think now it's too late for that. I know you tried your best, but you knew it would just be a matter of time." He tilted his head towards her, "You can't let her deal with this alone. It’s _him._ " 

"I know." Chewie nodded sadly, glancing at the bundle in his arms and holding the man closer. "Thank you for bringing them home."

"No worries. I'm leaving now. I wish you well." He patted Chewie's shoulder as he walked away. "Be strong, dear girl" 

They watched him disappear at a corner. 

"I know you have questions, but let's go inside first."

Rey is quiet as she wiped her shoes on the mat, taking off her shoes and carefully placing it into the surprisingly not dusty shoe rack. Her uncle must've been stress cleaning again. The hardwood was pristine and smelled newly floorwaxed. The capiz windows gleamed. 

The wind chime tinkled, its beads filled with blessed oil bubbled inside. Chewie waved his hand once to make it quiet down. 

"It's the señorito, you stupid thing. Have some manners," he grumbled.

The chime tinkled in annoyance before quieting down, swaying in the light wind. 

"We should have kept the old one here instead." 

"Kuya Sagwa told me that he's the Bakunawa. I thought the old gods were gone?"

"Not all of them. Not yet." 

"You know him."

"I used to. Long ago. I knew his parents." Chewie untangled him from the sheet before he laid the man down on the sofa, kneeling next to him. "He used to be a lot smaller."

Now that she could see his face, Rey felt a small flicker of something strange unfurl in her chest. His face was long and tired even in his sleep, hands clenched in fists. He wore a pair of mud-stained pants that had seen better times and a simple sweater that had multiple holes and was unraveling at the hem. His breaths came in labored pants. As she looked at him, she could almost make out his nightmare.

Rey had never seen anything as devastatingly beautiful before. 

"I know him," she said breathlessly.

"You do. You always do." Rey doesn't take her eyes off him, clenching the aged hilt of the sword in her hand unconsciously.

"He was sitting in the rain, waiting. I've never seen an aswang unbothered by the rain before." 

"He's not an aswang."

"He had a death mask." 

Chewie placed his hand on the man's forehead, swiping hair away from his face like he would a small child.

  
"I thought he was lost to us." He smiled sadly, looking at her with shining eyes. Chewie sat on the nearest chair, sniffling. " _Benjamin Breja Dionisio Solo y Amidala Organa._ He’s my nephew. _"_ He rattled off the name with as much pompousness he could manage, punctuated with a single chuckle. He nodded towards her, leaned back on the chair, and breathed a sigh of relief. "He's home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a more complete description of the creatures and mythical beings [ here ](https://www.aswangproject.com/creatures-mythical-beings-philippine-folklore-mythology/)
> 
> Nuno - (or 'nuno sa punso', meaning 'goblin of the mound') are spirits that live in mounds of soil or anthills that are very territorial and curse those that harm their mound
> 
> Lambana - are fairy-like and could have butterfly or dragonfly wings and could sometimes glow like fireflies (what I have in mind are those glowy glowy dragonfly creatures from Princess Mononoke hehe)
> 
> Kapre - a hairy giant that lives in giant trees and smokes, noticed only by the embers or the scent of the smoke of their cigars. Sometimes they play tricks which makes travelers in the forest go on and on in circles and the only way to find the way back is to turn their shirt inside out; and I thought hairy? giant?? Wookiees!! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
> 
> [ Sagwa ](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sagwa) \- a Wookiee from Solo: A Star Wars Story and was one of those that participated in the break-out and helped his fellow slaves escape from Kessel
> 
> *There were special oil bottles that were usually strung on a rope and tied somewhere on the body that bubbled when aswang were near
> 
> *Ben's name here is based on the full name of our "national hero" (long story), Jose Rizal (like srsly, google it)
> 
> And because I must always stay on brand:  
> [ Bakunawa ](https://www.aswangproject.com/bakunawa/) \- the giant moon-eater dragon which was believed to be the cause of eclipses (≧∇≦*)


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